Dartboard of Eureka
by sagdragon3002
Summary: Jack ponders while Dylan’s in custody. A “missing scene” fic set between Jack’s showdown with Dylan and the baseball game in Blink.


Disclaimer: Eureka isn't mine.  
Title: Dartboard of Eureka  
Author: ffjunkie42/sagdragon3002  
Rating: PG  
Warnings: Spoilers for and up to Blink; based on **aired** order, not production.  
Summary: Jack ponders while Dylan's in custody. A "missing scene" fic set between Jack's showdown with Dylan and the baseball game.

* * *

Waiting for Jo to arrive and take Dylan into custody had been a long ten minutes for Jack Carter. In the meantime Zoe had explained where exactly she had "parked" the car, he had handcuffed Dylan (just as a safety measure; Jack didn't expect the boy to wake up anytime soon), and he had privately lamented his new aches. 

There were those few punches Dylan had (unfairly, in his opinion) landed with his super-speed. But there was also an all-too-familiar twinge in his chest that made Jack suspect his ribs were bruised, if not broken. He couldn't remember any instance where he could have done damage to his chest, which led Jack to believe Dylan had dropped him during the super-speed transport. Apparently the drug didn't enhance strength as well as speed. Too bad Dylan hadn't taken that into account before hauling a man nearly thirty pounds heavier than himself out of a moving vehicle.

Zoe showed no sign of realizing he had suffered anything worse than a few blows. Jo, when she finally appeared on the beach, also believed his assurances. Jack wanted to avoid throwing a fuss over an alleged injury at all costs. Besides, there was no _real_ evidence that he had even bruised any of them; the ping in his chest could be due to bad indigestion.

He could only hope that, unlike his other prayers which frequently went unheard, if he kept repeating those words they would prove true.

A half-hour later saw them in Global Dynamics, where Dylan was being taken care of by the doctors sequestered there. They wanted to ensure that the boy wasn't at risk of slowing down into a statue as well. Jack also got scolded for throwing a baseball at the kid's head at the velocity he had been traveling; the sheriff noticed that no one was admonishing the (albeit unconscious) kid for actively trying to kill _him_. As far as Jack was concerned, Dylan had gotten off lightly. Dylan had put Zoe in danger's way by dating her when he thought drugs were the means of getting ahead. And then Dylan had gone and taken him out of the car _while it was moving_, leaving Zoe to fend for herself.

Jack wasn't even going to touch the whole nearly-shooting-the-gun-at-him issue; it would make him petty. Thank goodness for safeties, though.

In the end, Jack had gotten away with nary a check-up from the doctors. Allison had repeated Jo's question once they had returned to GD, and so had one other doctor. Jack had grinned and quipped his way from under both their noses, finishing his story off on the pretext that he needed to take Zoe back to school. She had complained and begged to be excused for the rest of the day, but he heard nothing of it. Watching as she retreated sulkily into the confines of the school building, Jack drove back home.

Sinking into the couch was a relief; being served a cold beer from SARAH was even better. But as he leaned over to set the bottle down on the coffee table, Jack heard a nasty _pop!_ ring in his ears and the insignificant twinge in his chest became a full-fledged pain.

Straightening quickly, Jack bit back a curse and a groan. Cradling his chest, he asked SARAH for Advil and water and cautiously felt along his ribcage, stopping as the pain sharpened for a second with pressure.

_Yep. Broken_, Jack winced, popping two pills into his mouth and swallowing them with far too much ease; he really needed to stop getting hit by every wayward object and person in this town._ Damn kid needs to eat his Wheaties. Or stop pulling people out of their cars and trying to haul them two miles away when they don't have the strength to stop and lower them respectfully._

Thinking back over his career as a U.S. Marshall, Jack couldn't recall being injured so much in the line of duty. From what it seemed, he had only started falling way to injuries when he became Eureka's sheriff.

_What do they call it again? Ah, right, dartboard. I'm the dartboard of Eureka._

Jack stared up at the ceiling resentfully, realizing that the description fit all too well. First the constant amnesia-attacks, that damned day with Carlson with far too many injuries for him to remember fondly, and the bruising and headache he got crashing his car into the MAD machine. Now this.

He wondered if Sheriff Cobb had been the dartboard during his tenure. And if so, why the hell hadn't he warned him when he took up the position.

Of course, it would explain his decision to retire—in addition to, if not including, the leg.

Jack bit back a whimper. He hoped nothing that severe happened to him.

It was days like these that made Jack wish Jo _had_ been promoted to sheriff and he the lowly deputy. Or that the DoD had left him to his job as a Marshall. Or that he'd stayed in Los Angeles and been bored-to-death-but-still-healthy within his marriage.

Jack's features twisted into a frown. He wondered if the dartboard theory worked like voodoo dolls. Was there a physical dartboard with his picture on it and several darts prodding him? If there were, he should go grab the thing and hide it away. It was probably hanging in Stark's office.

Sighing and realizing he would need to slip by the doctor's office to check up on his ribs in spite of his dislike for hospitals and doctors, Jack settled back onto the couch and closed his eyes. _Just for a moment..._

"Carter. Carter, wake up."

Waking abruptly, Jack struggled to clear away the heavy feeling in his head and focus. The visage of Allison Blake swam in his eyes, though that couldn't be right. She was at Global Dynamics, overseeing the distribution of the antigen to the MPH.

His vision was clearing, but Allison remained there. She even said, "Long day?"

Jack blinked slowly. Apparently he had drifted off, and the woman wasn't a hallucination. "You could say that. How long was I out?"

"You were asleep for an hour, two minutes, and twenty-three seconds, Sheriff Carter," SARAH answered helpfully.

Allison twitched, eyes casting upward. "No, I definitely don't think I'll ever get used to that."

Feeling his chest ache, Jack shrugged carefully not to disturb it further. "I didn't think so, either. It helps when she records my games for me." He eyed her, asking, "So, why're you here? And how'd you get in?"

"I just thought you'd like to know that Fargo and the other scientists will be alright," Allison replied. "Dylan, too, is fine. His parents have decided to seek counseling for him."

"Beverly?" Jack asked curiously.

"Ah, someone who's a little less…alluring, to a seventeen year old boy," Allison looked around, querying, "Is Zoe at school?"

"Much to her dismay," Jack grinned. "Discovering the boyfriend she was dating just to irk her father was going to try and shoot said father wasn't much of an excuse for me. But how did you get in?"

Allison concentrated her gaze on him, and Jack suddenly got the feeling she was x-raying him…or at least doing the thing that women did that let them know men were hiding something. "SARAH let me in. She said you broke a rib and bruised some others. I can't believe you _lied_ to me when I asked you if you were alright."

Jack scowled around him, thinking at his house, _Traitor_. "I was going to go in," Jack informed her. "I just…dozed off first."

"Right," Allison fluttered her fingers at him. "Shirt, off. Might as well bind it now, until you _can_ go to the doctor's."

"Are you propositioning me?" Jack grinned, yelping as she slapped him lightly on the shoulder.

"Don't waste another brain cell on that line of thinking."

Disgruntled, Jack began undoing the buttons of his uniform as Allison picked up a roll of bandage SARAH kindly offered, muttering, "_Definitely_ stuck in right field."

Allison frowned at the trouble-spot, seeing the bruise easily. "Honestly, Carter, can't you stay in one piece for a week?"

"Complain to the scientists and their brats," Jack mumbled, wincing as the binding was wound tight. "I just try to keep a little peace around here."

Allison _tsk_ed, adding, "Maybe we need to get you a helmet. And some heavy-duty padding."

"Ha ha, very funny," he sneered. "How about we just ask the nice people of Eureka to stop wrecking havoc everywhere? I'm sure _that'll_ help keep the damn darts from landing all over the board."

A single brow arching gracefully was his reply.

Jack waved a hand, explaining, "You know, the whole dartboard theory? A person has their picture on a dartboard and everyone throws darts at it and hurts them?"

Nodding amicably, Allison finished the binding and put down the roll of bandage. "By the way, Henry asked me to tell you that you're Captain of the Neutron team. Team Captains pick players the day after tomorrow."

Attention piqued, Jack ignored the increased pressure to his chest as he said, "Seriously? Just a few days and we've already got fields and team names picked? Wait, I didn't realize Eureka already had a baseball field."

Allison bit her lip. "We do…sort of. Quantum Field; Spencer, Henry, and some other scientists are adding the finishing touches on our baseball equipment."

The mention of 'scientists' in the same sentence as 'baseball equipment' made Jack wary. "What does _that_ mean?"

The woman merely smiled secretively. "You'll see in a few days. In the meantime, make sure you get better and see that doctor."

She left him on the couch and headed for the door. At the last moment, she turned and added, "Oh, by the way, in case you were wondering, the other Captain is Deputy Lupo." She chuckled as she left.

Blinking, Jack groaned and sat back in the couch. "Giving scientists—and _Jo_, of all people—baseball bats and baseballs. What the hell was I thinking?"

* * *

A/N: I don't know who the captains were; I went under the assumption that Carter had that honor, and I simply picked between Jo and Taggart. 


End file.
